I Yam what I Yam: Ube-licious

Trivia question: what’s a vegetable that’s also a dessert?

Ten points if you said yams! Although we have orange candied yams as a Thanksgiving favorite, we’re also talking about the gastronomically purple, tuberous vegetable called… Ube!

Your Instagram foodie feed probably went through a few color changes this season. From rainbow-ing every breakfast food to making dessert go green with matcha’s global takeover, the next color phase is: purple! Like matcha’s elegant emeralds, ube’s deeply royal violet is completely natural, just take a look at the actual ingredient itself!

A closer look: the starchy sweet

Ube is an indigenous purple yam from the Philippines. It resembles taro, another purple starch, but ube’s insides are fully purple, while taro’s inner core is white after it’s peeled. Commonly used in all sorts of Filipino cuisines, you may have heard of the most beloved and popular ube dessert: Halo halo.

Halo halo resembles a Filipino version of shaved snow, or bingsoo! All of the icy desserts include sweet shaved ice or milk and get sprinkled with various toppings like, condensed milk, syrups, red bean, and more. But, you can tell it’s halo halo because of its generous scoop of bright purple ube ice cream on top and drizzled ube halaya, also known as ube jam!

Why ube?

Now you may be wondering, potato for dessert?! It may sound unheard of at first, but ube’s gentle flavors actually make it the perfect starchy sweet. It’s definitely not as savory as your normal potato; instead, a bite of ube yields a mixture of vanilla and hints of nutty pistachio, making it pleasantly mild.

Ube’s unqiue taste lets it surge on your Instagram #desserts photos. It’s mixed in and smothered on donuts, ice cream scoops, soft serve, and all kinds of pastries. The soft, nutty flavor of the purple yam allows a soothingly mellow contrast to the saccharine sweets. You can always have ube on its own, but its dessert fusions are truly a colorful treat!

Eat your veggies!

Your vegetable intake doesn’t have to just be broccoli and spinach greens. Although we don’t recommend a hunk of ube ice cream for dinner, as a purple yam, ube consists of healthy properties just like any other vegetable.

Ube is a great source of carbs – and before all the keto diets go boycotting ube, note there are good and bad carbohydrates. As a source of healthy, fiber-rich carbs, ube can also boost your nutrition intake because it’s filled with potassium and vitamin C. Vitamin C especially helps the body by fighting harmful molecules and protecting the cells, it’s the power antioxidant!

Next time you see this deep lavender item on the menu, be sure to give it a try! It’s loud color and quieter taste are sure to give you an adventure of a dessert experience. And last but not least, pro tip: make sure you know your purple! 

Many confuse ube for taro, and because they’re both purple and delicious, it’ll be hard to tell… but each are worth a taste!